


The War in Your Soul

by amusewithaview



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, I am soulmate trash., Leaving Kylo Ren's character up to interpretation., Multi, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Star Wars: The Force Awakens Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-25
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-09 04:32:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5525510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amusewithaview/pseuds/amusewithaview
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She waited until he took the mask off to address the Bantha in the room.  “I have your words on my arm,” she said, staring at him.</p><p>He swallowed, eyes falling shut for a moment before he looked at her again: “I know.”  He moved towards her, and she watched his black-gloved fingers trace the air above the lettering on her arm, where his words shone stark white against her tanned skin.  “Beautiful,” he whispered, so softly she didn’t think he’d meant to say it aloud.  He kept his hand raised, skimming it just above her flesh until his fingers hovered by her temple.</p><p>“It doesn’t change anything, does it?” she said quietly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The War in Your Soul

**Author's Note:**

> There are two things you need to know about me:  
> 1\. I am a soulmate fic junkie.  
> 2\. I came out of this movie loving every single theoretical ship that doesn't involve Hux.

Poe Dameron was always been torn between gratefulness and faint annoyance when the topic of soulmarks came up. He was thrice blessed with marks on his left wrist, right shoulder, and curling over his left hipbone. He loved his marks, he just wished they were a little less… generic. Poe’s one consolation was his near certainty that each of his soulmates would speak first, giving him the opportunity to say something unique and, hopefully, mark-worthy in response.

“You! Come with me,” in beautiful purple on his hip.

“He’s fine,” in emerald green on his shoulder.

“The old man gave it to you,” in icy white on his wrist.

Poe touched each one before and after every mission. They were a talisman, a promise, and he would live to see them kept. He just hoped he’d get to meet his soulmates before he was old and grey. He hummed quietly to himself as he landed on Jakku, listening to BB-8’s curious whistles and beeps.

[Dark, Friend-Poe,] it chirped disapprovingly.

“I know, buddy.”

[Lights?] it queried.

“No, we’re keeping dark. Last thing we want is company,” he said, smiling. He sat for a moment after powering down, then ran a hand over his shoulder, his hip, and slid his sleeve up to look at the painfully neat writing on his wrist. The mark seemed almost to glow in the faint light cast by the fighter’s flight console and Poe thought, for a moment, that it looked brighter than it ever had before.

[Mission?]

“On it,” Poe said, pulling his sleeve back down.

…

FN-2187 had known that the strange writing meant pain or, if he was lucky, transfer.

Finn now knew that they were soulmarks, and they meant something he wasn’t sure he was ready to handle. He sat at the holo-table and traced his fingers over the green writing on the palm of his hand. The words were Rey’s: “Thief! Where did you get that jacket?”

“You okay, kid?”

He jumped, hand closing over the words reflexively. “Sorry?”

Han tilted his head, “Is it the girl’s?”

Finn nodded cautiously.

“And you two met…?”

“On Jakku? Less than an hour before you found us.”

“Right. Well. Marks,” Han looked slightly uncomfortable but also determined. “Marks… they mean about as much as you want them to mean, kid. You want to build your world around the other person – “

“Persons,” Finn corrected, thinking of the orange writing on his side and the white that ran down his leg. One set was still unknown to him, but the orange writing, _Poe’s_ writing - he didn’t want to think about it, he wasn’t _ready_ to think about it.

“Plural? Well, good luck with that. Point is, when you’re marked – “ his eyes went distant, as if he was looking straight through the hull of the Falcon at something – or some _one_ Finn couldn’t see. “You can only give so much of yourself to another person, and it’s up to you to decide what that is.” Han shook himself and turned to go, pausing in the doorway. “Thing is,” he said, turning back and giving Finn a half-smile. “In my experience? It’s worth it.”

…

She waited until he took the mask off to address the Bantha in the room. “I have your words on my arm,” she said, staring at him.

He swallowed, eyes falling shut for a moment before he looked at her again: “I know.” He moved towards her, and she watched his black-gloved fingers trace the air above the lettering on her arm, where his words shone stark white against her tanned skin. “Beautiful,” he whispered, so softly she didn’t think he’d meant to say it aloud. He kept his hand raised, skimming it just above her flesh until his fingers hovered by her temple.

“It doesn’t change anything, does it?” she said quietly.

“No,” he corrected her, worlds of meaning she couldn’t even begin to unpack layered into his voice. “It changes _everything_.”

And then he dove into her mind and all she knew was pain, struggle, and _Force_.

…

Poe was the best pilot the Rebels had, and part of that reputation came from the way he treated the people he flew with, the soldiers under his command. He saw what remained of the Rebel fleet safely out of their fighters and on their way to medics, meals, or bunks before he set off to find Finn. He would have to report to the General sooner rather than later, but he’d already been told all debriefings would be postponed until the next day.

He had to ask three people before he found someone who knew who – and better, _where_ \- Finn was. The news of his injury sent terror down Poe’s spine as his system, still coming down from the high of battle, decided to flood his body with adrenaline all over again. He sprinted to the infirmary, heedless of indignant calls and yells from those he bumped along the way.

Poe found Finn in an open ward, laid out on a bio-bed and covered by nothing but a thin sheet. There was a doctor taking readings with a scanner and someone sitting at Finn’s side, holding one of his hands. Poe slowed to a walk, not wanting to be thrown out for disrupting the rest of the ill and injured.

“How is he?” he asked the woman – girl, really – at Finn’s side.

She jolted, turning to him with wide, red-rimmed eyes. “He’s fine,” she said.

“Oh,” Poe said, going stock-still. Then, “ _Oh,_ ” he said again, with greater feeling, and finally, “I think I need to sit down.”

The girl reached out and hooked her ankle around a second chair, sliding it over to him. She watched him cautiously as he practically collapsed into it, wariness quickly replaced by concern as he scrubbed his hands over his face and began to laugh. “Are you all right?” she asked cautiously.

“Yeah,” he said, sighing. “It’s just been a _very_ rough few days, you know?”

Her face went through a series of expressions before she too sighed. “Yes.”

“Poe Dameron,” he said and offered her a hand.

“Rey,” she returned. Her palm was rough with callouses, her clothing dirt-stained and bloody, but she managed to muster up a small smile for him.

She didn’t let go of his hand, and he was content to let her keep it.

**Author's Note:**

> I am leaving Kylo Ren's villainy ambiguous in this one because while I like the "deliberate Dark Side" theory, I have strong doubts regarding its potential for actualization. I am also leaving any potential romantic/sexual relationships vague (remember, kiddies, soulmates can be platonic too!) because we still don't know if Kylo and Rey are related. I really hope they're not, mostly because it would be an untwist. I am less bothered by first cousin shipping (assuming she's Luke's kid) because I grew up reading Robin McKinley's "Hero and the Crown" and "The Blue Sword." If I write any ACTUAL Kylo/Rey, I will tag for incest just in case.
> 
> But guys. GUYS. I _loved_ this movie. So much.


End file.
